Incoming French president Emmanuel Macron was starting to build his centrist government today, with his former Socialist boss Manuel Valls jockeying for position in a radically changed political landscape.

Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he would vote for Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election, the biggest Socialist party name to date to turn his back on its official candidate and back the centrist instead.

French voters on Sunday were electing the Socialist candidate who will face a tough battle against rivals from the far-left, far-right and the political center in the presidential election this spring.

France's former premier Manuel Valls, relegated to underdog in the race for the Socialists' presidential nomination, is banking on his record as a reform-minded pragmatist to win Sunday's primary run-off.

France's Socialists voted on Sunday in the first round of a presidential primary with candidates, including former prime minister Manuel Valls, seeking traction in an election expected to see the country tilt to the right.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls faces an uphill battle to unite his Socialist Party and overcome his government's deep unpopularity as he prepares to throw his hat into the ring for next year's presidential election.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls is expected to announce a Presidential bid, in hopes of rallying the divided French left amid growing populist pressure ahead of France's April-May Presidential election.

Incoming French president Emmanuel Macron was starting to build his centrist government today, with his former Socialist boss Manuel Valls jockeying for position in a radically changed political landscape.

Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he would vote for Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election, the biggest Socialist party name to date to turn his back on its official candidate and back the centrist instead.

French voters on Sunday were electing the Socialist candidate who will face a tough battle against rivals from the far-left, far-right and the political center in the presidential election this spring.

France's former premier Manuel Valls, relegated to underdog in the race for the Socialists' presidential nomination, is banking on his record as a reform-minded pragmatist to win Sunday's primary run-off.

France's Socialists voted on Sunday in the first round of a presidential primary with candidates, including former prime minister Manuel Valls, seeking traction in an election expected to see the country tilt to the right.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls faces an uphill battle to unite his Socialist Party and overcome his government's deep unpopularity as he prepares to throw his hat into the ring for next year's presidential election.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls is expected to announce a Presidential bid, in hopes of rallying the divided French left amid growing populist pressure ahead of France's April-May Presidential election.